New service to help county’s smokers to quit

Jeremy Ransome

If you’re thinking of quitting smoking in the New Year, a new service will be there to offer you help and support.

Provided by stop-smoking specialists Quit 51, a full range of support will be available, including face to face clinics, group support and telephone and online support.

We know that different people need help to quit in different ways so we offer a variety of support methods tailored to people’s needs

Emma Croghan, from Quit 51

The ‘Smokefree Lincolnshire’ service is available for anyone in the county who wants to quit by calling 0800 6226968 or texting ‘smokefree’ to 66777. Alternatively, referrals can be made through your GP who may also prescribe nicotine replacement products to help you.

Stopping smoking is especially beneficial for pregnant women and people with long-term physical and mental health conditions, and additional specialised support will be available for these people through the new service.

Coun Patricia Bradwell, executive councillor for public health at the county council, said: “This was the first opportunity we had to review what was an inherited NHS contract and we found the previous service was vastly under-used and didn’t represent value for money.

“The new service is more efficient and focuses on those most in need of additional and specialist support such as those with heart disease and pregnant women.

“Support is available to everyone else too, although we know many people are choosing to use e-cigarettes and cut down on smoking without the use of support services. The help offered is delivered in a variety of different and more modern ways, to fit round people’s lifestyles.

“All of our budgets are being looked at as we try and make more than £130million of savings over the next four years and we have to make sure our providers deliver the best service at a cost we can afford.”

Emma Croghan, from Quit 51, said: “We’ve been providing these services in lots of areas of the country and are really pleased to be able to offer our support services in Lincolnshire too. We know that different people need help to quit in different ways so we offer a variety of support methods tailored to people’s needs.”

For more information about the new stop-smoking service see www.quit51.co.uk